“The Exorcist: Believer” hits theaters this weekend, fifty years after the release of William Friedkin‘s 1973 original. And given Friedkin’s passing earlier this year, David Gordon Green will never know what the late director thinks about his film. Would Friedkin have been kinder than the critics torching “The Exorcist: Believer” ahead of its release? Who’s to say, but IndieWire reports that Green “was very curious to see” how Friedkin would take to the film, whether he enjoyed it or not.
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In an interview with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts‘ A.Frame, Green said that he regrets he never got to meet the late director and show him his latest feature before Friedkin’s death earlier this year. “I would’ve loved that,” Green said. “I was looking forward to showing him the film because I never communicated with him. My understanding was that he didn’t want involvement in the film production, but he would give us his thoughts after the movie.”
Unfortunately, Friedkin passed away on August 7 before he could lay eyes on “The Exorcist: Believer.” But Green had looked forward to his input. “I was very curious to see what he would think, because I know he has been very critical and was very outspoken, but he was also a brilliant man,” Green continued. “He didn’t have to love my movie, but I could learn from him, because he made many of my favorite movies. Like everyone, I was saddened at his passing, and I’m excited for his new film [“The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial“] coming out. Everybody has to acknowledge that so many of the movies he made are monumental and will live forever and influence filmmakers like myself for years to come.”
Green’s certainly right about Friedkin’s filmography: it’s flush with classics like “The French Connection,” “Sorcerer,” “To Live And Die In LA,” and late-career highlights like “Killer Joe.” But the impact of “The Exorcist” on the horror genre still reverberates five decades after its theatrical release. “It’s a movie of unnerving drama or, as “The Exorcist”‘s director William Friedkin called it, a theological thriller,” Green said about the 1973 pic. “You see many horror movie gimmicks come and go and have their trends and fashions, but “The Exorcist” feels so grounded. It feels like it is on earth. It’s very observational and clinical. It could happen. In many ways, the documentary approach to it inspired us in our path, and I think there’s great value in that timelessness.”
Indeed, “The Exorcist” is a timeless film. But “The Exorcist: Believer”? Not so much. Ahead of its theatrical release, Green’s film holds a 22% rating on Rotten Tomatoes; not the worst rating in the franchise, but still terrible. And if “The Exorcist: Believer” fails at the box office, don’t be surprised if Blumhouse adjusts its plans to complete a new “Exorcist” trilogy with Green. But if anything, Friedkin’s notes would prove invaluable for Green and wherever the franchise heads next.
“The Exorcist: Believer” hits theaters tomorrow. Watch a clip from the film below.
